Opening day: UTSA baseball hopes to maintain an underdog mentality

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After an almost surrealistic year of unprecedented success, including a program-record 47 victories and an NCAA regional championship, the UTSA baseball team opens the new season on Friday when it takes on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Roadrunner Field.

Andrew Stucky. Game 1 of UTSA baseball's fall series on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at Roadrunner Field. - photo by Joe Alexander

Catcher Andrew Stucky says the Roadrunners plan to play this season as if they ‘still have something to prove.’ . – Photo by Joe Alexander

In the opener of a three-game series, the program’s modest grandstand is expected to be jammed with fans anxious to see a team stacked with some veteran players and promising newcomers, hopeful that they can create some of the same magic that filled the community with pride a year ago.

UTSA players know what is expected, but if they feel any pressure, it’s hard to tell.

“Last year was awesome, kind of fun,” UTSA senior catcher Andrew Stucky said. “You know … that was last year. We got a new team this year. But I think even still, for all of us, we still have something to prove, even this year.

“Even though we had so much success, it’s kind of like, we need to come out here and prove that it wasn’t a one-year thing. Like, we can do it again. We can beat big schools, and everything like that.”

In other words, the Roadrunners feel like they are still the underdogs. Or, in another sense, they’re still the hunters and not the hunted.

“Absolutely, yeah,” Stucky said.

Even though last season created a stir of excitement around the campus and in the city, the team has been on a solid foundation for the past six years under Coach Pat Hallmark.

In his last four seasons, Hallmark’s teams rank fourth among 22 NCAA Division I programs in the state in victories, according to an analysis of team records by The JB Replay.

Since 2022, the Texas Longhorns lead the state with 169 wins, followed by Dallas Baptist (167), Texas A&M (165), UTSA (155) and TCU (154).

In that same time frame, Dallas Baptist leads in winning percentage with .693, followed by Texas (.673), Lamar (.668), UTSA (.665) and Texas A&M (.652).

Last season, UTSA finished 47-15 and reached the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs for the first time.

In the Austin Regional, they knocked off Kansas State once and No. 2 overall seed Texas twice to advance. The Roadrunners were eliminated the following weekend by No. 15 UCLA at the Los Angeles Super Regional.

South Dakota State is coming off a 16-36 season. The Rob Bishop-coached Jackrabbits play in the Summit League.

Coming up

South Dakota State at UTSA
Friday – 4 p.m.
Saturday – noon
Sunday – 1 p.m.

Notable

Pitchers Zach Royse and Braylon Owens emerged as two UTSA players from last year drafted by Major League Baseball clubs. The Atlanta Braves selected Royse in the seventh round. The Milwaukee Brewers took Owens in the 10th round.

At least three others signed undrafted free agent contracts, including James Taussig (with the Chicago White Sox), Mason Lytle (Houston Astros) and Ty Hodge (Boston Red Sox).

Norris McClure has signed to play in an independent league in New York.

The Roadrunners will field a strong contingent of returning players, including opening weekend starting pitchers Robert Orloski, Connor Kelley and Kendall Dove.

Orloski, a junior, finished last season 8-0 with nine saves and a 3.36 earned run average. He struck out 77 in 72 innings.

Other veteran pitchers from last year include Conor Myles, Sam Simmons, Christian Okerholm and Gunnar Brown.

A concern leading into the new year is the health of returning infield standout Nathan Hodge, who will be out for an extended period and possibly the season with an injury to his throwing arm.

Leading the returning position players are three catchers in Stucky, Broc Parmer and Whitt Joyce; plus, infielders Jordan Ballin and Diego Diaz, first basemen Caden Miller and Cade Sadler and outfielders Drew Detlefsen and Garrett Gruell.

Last year, Detlefsen led the Roadrunners in home runs (13) and RBI (70).

Ballin is expected to be ready to play despite some misfortune with injuries over the past year. He fractured a hand at the end of last season and suffered a leg fracture last fall. The leg was injured during a scrimmage against Navarro College when he was hit by a 94 mph fastball.

Newcomers who could see action on the opening weekend include two freshmen, slugging outfielder Nathan Johnson from Katy Seven Lakes and infielder Aidan Eshelman from Houston Episcopal.

Other newcomers to watch include outfielders Lane Haworth (from Wichita State) and Brandon Bishop (from the University of Houston) and also catcher Jacob Silva (TCU) and infielder Josh Arquette (Panola JC).

East Carolina men win, 88-72, as UTSA’s losing streak hits 17

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The lowly East Carolina Pirates entered Wednesday night’s game in Greenville, N.C., with 16 losses on the season and without a win at home against an American Conference opponent.

The Pirates rectified the situation by cruising to an 88-72 victory, delivering a program-record 17th straight loss to the beleaguered UTSA Roadrunners.

UTSA point guard Austin Nunez sat out after taking a hard fall in a game played at home Saturday night.

For the Roadrunners’ men’s basketball program, it was another dubious moment as it clinched a 20-loss season for the fourth time in the last five years. Last season, in Austin Claunch’s first as head coach, they finished 12-19.

This year, the hard-luck Roadrunners sit at 4-20 and 0-12 in the American. To make matters worse, there’s probably no chance for redemption in March, either. In a new twist, the conference has whittled the tournament down to 10 teams.

Going into Wednesday night’s late games, North Texas, Rice and East Carolina were locked in a battle for the 10th spot.

North Texas and Rice have seven losses East Carolina eight, meaning that UTSA, barring a miraculous turnaround in the last few weeks, likely is on the verge of elimination with six games to play.

The Pirates, who improved to 8-14 on the season and 3-8 in the American, looked like a team that could have been beaten. They entered Wednesday night with an 0-5 record at home in the American and with a track record for losing in a variety of ways.

But with the Pirates racing to a 46-31 halftime lead, and with star guard Jordan Riley finishing with 19 points to lead six players in double figures, the Roadrunners were left again wondering when, or if, it will ever end.

“These guys battled,” Claunch said on his postgame radio interview with Andy Everett. “Just didn’t get it done.”

For Nunez, indications are that he could be ready on Sunday at Charlotte, but it’s uncertain how that will play out considering that he crash-landed so hard on a drive to the hoop last Saturday night at home against North Texas.

Against East Carolina, with seven players inactive, UTSA started Jamir Simpson and Brent Moss in the backcourt, with Baboucarr Njie on the wing and Daniel Akitoby and Kaidon Rayfield on the front line.

Simpson played 38 minutes, with Rayfield and Moss getting 36 and Daniel Akitoby 31. Akitoby, a spot player in the first few months of the season, produced 16 points and 11 rebounds. Moss had 15, with Rayfield scoring 12 and Simpson 11.

But, as so often happens with the Roadrunners, they shot the ball poorly. They hit 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. At the free throw line, their inconsistency was maddening as they made only eight of 16.

In contrast, the Pirates attacked the rim and got fouled enough to make 18 of 20 free throws. From the field, they hit 46 percent, including 53 percent in the first half when they broke the game open.

Records

UTSA 4-20, 0-12
East Carolina 8-16, 3-8

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, 11 a.m.
FAU at UTSA, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 p.m.

Notable

UTSA men’s basketball remains tied for second for the longest active losing streak in NCAA Division I. The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils have dropped 22 in a row, while the Roadrunners and the Air Force Falcons have lost 17 straight.

East Carolina’s Jordan Riley, with three straight 30-points plus games coming in, was limited to 19. But Isaiah Mbeng and Co. more than made up the difference. He scored 15 of his 18 in the first half.

Demitri Gardner had 15, with Eli DeLaurier going for 13 and Giovanni Emejuru 12. Emejuru, a 6-foot-10 senior, protected the paint with three blocked shots while also pulling down 12 boards.

The Pirates entered the game with five players inactive, second in the conference in numbers only to the Roadrunners.

First half

Mbeng hit three 3-point buckets and scored 15 points, lifting the Pirates into a 46-31 lead.

In the game played at the Williams Arena at Menges Coliseum, in Greenville, N.C., Mbeng tied his career high in scoring by connecting on four for five from the field and three for four from beyond the 3-point arc.

Averaging 23.3 points for the season, Riley played secondary role in the opening half, scoring six points with three assists and three rebounds in 19 minutes.

UTSA entered the American Conference contest without the services of seven players, including Nunez, who has played 22 games as the team’s No. 1 point guard this season, and also without center Mo Njie.

Leading 9-6 in the first five minutes, UTSA started to falter as East Carolina started a 26-7 surge.

When Mbeng nailed a three with 6:02 left in the half, the Pirates had opened a 32-16 lead. Three minutes later, a Gardner triple gave East Carolina its largest lead of the half at 39-21.

UTSA assist leader Nunez ruled out against East Carolina

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA guard and assist leader Austin Nunez, shaken up in a hard fall to the floor last weekend, won’t play Wednesday night in an American Conference men’s’ basketball road game at East Carolina.

The injury occurred late in the second half in San Antonio on Saturday, when the North Texas Mean Green beat the Roadrunners, 81-58.

The decision to hold Nunez out for East Carolina was reported Wednesday afternoon on the conference’s website under player availability reports.

The Roadrunners will tip off against the Pirates Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Center Mo Njie is also listed as out for the game between teams battling to stay alive in the chase for the last spot in the conference tournament.

UTSA has six players listed as either out for the season or out for the game. A seventh, Dorian Hayes, is questionable with a shoulder issue.

Both Nunez and Hayes have been starters for most of the season. Nunez is the team’s second leading scorer (9.8) and leader in assists (61 total) in 22 games.

If both are out, it’s possible that sophomore walk on LJ Brown from San Antonio’s Johnson High School will start in the backcourt.

By dropping the home game against North Texas, UTSA extended its program-record losing streak to 16 games.

Records

UTSA 0-11, 4-19
East Carolina 2-8, 7-16

Coming up

UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, 11 a.m.
FAU at UTSA, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 p.m.

Notable

East Carolina features guard Jordan Riley, the leading scorer in the American. Riley has scored more than 30 points in each of his last three games.

The 6-5 guard is averaging 23.3 points. He scored 37 against Rice, 35 in a road victory at FAU and in his last game, he scored 32 at home Saturday against Temple.

Riley is from Brentwood, N.Y. He has also played at Georgetown and Temple. Riley is in his second year with the Pirates under coach Michael Schwartz.

Rowe scores 26 as the UTSA women down Temple, 52-43

Posted on by
Reply
Cheyenne Rowe. UTSA beat Temple 52-43 in American Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Cheyenne Rowe produced 26 points and 11 rebounds in a victory that keeps UTSA within striking distance of a top-four finish in the conference race. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners played gritty defense, they rebounded and then they passed the ball to Cheyenne Rowe.

Rowe, a 6-2 senior forward, did the rest.

She hit 11 of 19 shots from the field for 26 points as the Roadrunners downed the Temple Owls 52-43 for their second straight win in the American Conference.

Both Rowe and forward Idara Udo pulled down 11 rebounds as UTSA out-boarded Temple, 43-29. Mia Hammonds scored 10 points, including eight in the third quarter.

Rowe clinched a 2-0 season sweep of the Owls by scoring 10 points in the fourth period on five of nine shooting.

Idara Udo. UTSA beat Temple 52-43 in American Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA forward Idara Udo had five points and a team-high tying 11 rebounds against Temple in a performance that followed an 18-point showing at Tulsa last Saturday. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Just super proud of our team today,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “I didn’t think it was the easiest win. Both teams, you could really tell they knew each other. You could tell (we were) in the grind of conference play, and both teams knew exactly what the other was going to run.

“They were prepared, and it just got down to who could really buckle down in the second half and get the consecutive stops and maybe execute a little better offensively. I thought the difference in the game was we had 11 turnovers at the half and finished with 14.

“Taking care of the basketball and giving ourselves a chance to get a shot off was really the difference.”

For the Owls, forward Saniyah Craig produced a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

As for Temple’s explosive backcourt, UTSA effectively shut down guards Kaylah Turner and Tristen Taylor.

Turner entered the game averaging 17 points and leading the conference in scoring, while Taylor had been an 11-point, four-assist wizard with the ball.

UTSA held Turner to 12 points on five of 14 shooting. She scored only two in the second half when the Roadrunners secured the game.

Taylor, from Duncanville High School in the Dallas area, went scoreless in the game on zero for two field-goal shooting. Moreover, she had three assists and three turnovers.

In the first meeting between the teams, on Jan. 3 in Philadelphia, UTSA won 50-47. And even though Taylor scored 18 points, Turner was held to seven on three of 18 shooting.

Adriana Robles. UTSA beat Temple 52-43 in American Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Adriana Robles scored four points and had three assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Rowe, for her part, enjoyed two big games this year against the Owls. In Philadelphia, she produced 14 points and 18 rebounds. In San Antonio, it was more of an offensive tour de force.

She said patience was the key.

“Tried to see where I could get an open shot, where my teammates were going to open up the shot for me,” Rowe said. “I got to hand it to them for cutting. Cut assists are amazing in basketball.”

Udo said it’s “awesome” to be back with the team. For more than six weeks, she sat out with an injury. Now, after playing five games, the 6-1 power forward is starting to assert herself.

“I love getting out here and playing with my team and helping us stack wins together,” she said. “My time off was great, too. I got to be a good teammate and tried to be a leader and take on a different role.”

Records

Temple 10-13, 4-7
UTSA 12-11, 7-5

Coming up

South Florida at UTSA, Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

Notable

From Jan. 13 to Feb. 3, the Roadrunners hit a slump, losing five of seven games. Now, after winning last Saturday at Tulsa and again Tuesday night against Temple, they’ve seemingly turned the corner.

Karen Aston. UTSA beat Temple 52-43 in American Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Karen Aston’s UTSA Roadrunners beat Temple and improved its record to 12-11 overall and 7-5 in the American. – Photo by Joe Alexander

It’s a push that has allowed them to stay within striking distance of a fourth-place finish in the conference, which is rewarded with a double-bye into the 10-team postseason tournament.

Teams with the double bye gain the advantage of a shorter route to the American postseason title and the automatic NCAA tournament berth.

Teams finishing from seventh through 10th must win five games in five days to claim the title.

Teams finishing fifth and sixth will need to win four games in four days, while teams in third and fourth start in the quarterfinals, needing three wins in three days.

The top two seeds start in the semifinals, two wins on back-to-back days away from the automatic NCAA berth.

Right now, the Rice Owls (11-0), East Carolina Pirates (10-2) and Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-3) are first through third, respectively.

The South Florida Bulls (7-4) are fourth, only a half game ahead of the Roadrunners and the North Texas Mean (both at 7-5).

South Florida hosts third-place Tulsa on Wednesday night and then travels into San Antonio to play UTSA on Saturday.

With the 18-game schedule winding down, the Bulls-Roadrunners rematch should be interesting.

Incidentally, the Bulls started the Roadrunners’ five-losses in seven-games skid by winning 70-53 on Jan. 13 in Tampa.

In that game, South Florida knocked down 10 three-point baskets to hand UTSA its most lopsided loss in conference this season.

First half

Locked in a defensive struggle, the Roadrunners and the Owls battled to a 21-21 tie at intermission. Rowe hit five of six shots from the field and scored 12 points to lead the Roadrunners.

Temple coach Diane Richardson. UTSA beat Temple 52-43 in American Conference women's basketball on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Diane Richardson’s Temple Owls led the Roadrunners 17-13 after the first quarter but couldn’t hold on. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Unfortunately for UTSA, the rest of the team made only three of 14. Also, the Roadrunners’ offense stagnated against the Owls in other ways, often passing up open shots while turning the ball over 11 times.

The Roadrunners stayed in the game with an aggressive defense that limited the Owls to nine of 27 shooting for 33 percent. Temple guard Kaylah Turner supplied most of the firepower for the visitors, scoring 10 points on four of eight from the field.

UTSA women prepare for rematch against Temple’s dynamic duo

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners women survived one meeting against Kaylah Turner and Tristen Taylor this season. They’ll need to buckle up for another challenge tonight.

The Roadrunners will host two of the most dynamic guards in the American Conference when they play the Temple Owls at 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

Temple women's basketball coach Diane Richardson. Temple defeated UTSA 56-48 in American Athletic Conference women's basketball on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Diane Richardson has led the Temple women to back-to-back, 20-win seasons. The Owls (10-12, 4-6) are in town for a Tuesday night matchup against the UTSA Roadrunners (11-11, 6-5). – Photo by Joe Alexander

Turner is the leading scorer in the conference. The 5-6 junior from Jacksonville, Fla., averages 17.4 points.

Twice, she has scored in the 30s this season and six more times in the 20s for the Owls (10-12, 4-6), who are one of the most respected ball clubs in the bottom tier of the American’s standings.

In a Jan. 3 meeting against UTSA at Philadelphia, the Roadrunners did a good job defensively, holding Turner to one of her worst showings this season, three of 18 shooting from the field and seven points.

As a result, the Owls let a home game get away, losing 50-47 to the Roadrunners. It was a different narrative altogether in regard to Taylor, a 5-5 junior from Duncanville High School in the Dallas area.

She produced 18 points, three assists and a pair of steals. At the end, she just missed on a three-point shot that would have sent the game into overtime.

Given the background on the first meeting of the season with the Owls, and considering that Taylor has gone on to average 11.2 points and 4.3 assists, the Roadrunners (11-11, 6-5) are approaching Tuesday night’s rematch with eyes wide open.

UTSA coach Karen Aston knows from experience that even if a team holds one of those two down, the other is capable of willing Temple to victory.

“With Tristen, it was her first game back after an injury when we played up there,” Aston said Monday. “I’m not sure we had a handle on her game. I would expect that we’d be a little more prepared for her (Tuesday).

“Everyone in the league is prepared for Turner, and she’s still the leading scorer in the conference. So that tells you of her talent right there. She can be on everybody’s top of the scout, and she still gets the job done. Just two dynamic guards.”

The Owls could use the same adjective about UTSA forward Cheyenne Rowe. In the teams’ first meeting, Rowe exploded for 14 points and 18 rebounds. The 6-2 senior from Canada has been UTSA’s best player this season, averaging 13.5 and 8.8.

In the rematch, Temple will be tasked with another frontcourt challenge in dealing with forward Idara Udo.

Udo sat out the game in Philadelphia with a lower leg injury. But after missing six weeks of action, she has returned, playing the last four games for the Roadrunners.

Udo, a preseason second team, all-conference selection, scored a season-high 18 points Saturday in a 66-47 road victory at Tulsa. Aston is happy to have the 6-1 junior from Plano back on the floor and gaining confidence.

“Obviously it was a long time off for her,” the coach said. “You don’t expect someone to roll in after time off and be sharp (immediately) and be in game shape and all of that. So I think it’s a process for her. I’m proud of her patience with this. It kind of forced her to step back and mature a little bit.

“She had a lot of her own personal expectations, and it’s actually given her time to give herself some grace. She looked a little sharper on Saturday, and I think every game we play, she’ll get a little sharper and a little bit better game shape. Get her timing back.

“Again, it just takes time when someone’s missed as many games as she has.”

Records

Temple 10-12, 4-5
UTSA 11-11, 6-5

Coming up

Temple at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
South Florida at UTSA, Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

A new baseball season dawns for the ascendant UTSA Roadrunners

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Coming off a school-record 47 wins and a magical run to the NCAA Super Regional round of the playoffs, UTSA baseball is scheduled to open the new season with three home games from Friday through Sunday against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat Texas 7-4 on Sunday, June 1, 2025, to win the NCAA baseball tournament Austin Regional. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Coach Pat Hallmark is 187-111 in six years at UTSA. Last summer, he signed a contract extension that carries through the 2029 season. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Asked how this year’s team could be different from last year, Coach Pat Hallmark said Monday that he hopes that the Roadrunners are better, but he acknowledged he doesn’t know if that is the case.

Not just yet.

Last year’s team soared to the American Conference regular-season title and to an epic NCAA Austin Regional playoff victory, which included two wins in two days over the second-ranked Texas Longhorns.

Players such as outfielders Mason Lytle and James Taussig and pitchers Zach Royse and Braylon Owens led that charge. This season, those players have moved on, chasing baseball dreams in the professional ranks.

At the same time, others are stepping into their shoes at UTSA, hoping to make names for themselves and create their own legacy.

“We’re not quite as athletic (as last year),” Hallmark said. “That’s the only … difference I can tell at this point.”

Hallmark offered a caveat, noting that some of the best baseball players aren’t always the best athletes.

“I do think we’re a good baseball team,” he said. “We got to grow, though. The most important thing right now is just that we continue to improve. That’s what I mean by grow.

“We got to have growth in lots of areas. So, we got some questions. Some of the pitching you’ll see early on will be some familiar faces. But they’re going to be in bigger roles … We’ll see how they do.”

Junior righthander Rob Orloski will start on the mound Friday afternoon, Hallmark said. Connor Kelley will start on Saturday and Kendall Dove will get the ball on Sunday.

Orloski emerged as a program mainstay and a first-team, all conference pitcher last season in the team’s “stopper” role. Coming out of the bullpen, he finished with an 8-0 record, a team-leading nine saves and a 3.36 earned run average.

The coach said his starting pitchers this weekend would be on a pitch count that he characterized as “more high than low, because they are ready for that.”

He said the team’s “stopper” role, which has been filled in the past with former standouts Simon Miller and Ruger Riojas and, last season, with Orloski, hasn’t been determined yet.

At least, not on a long-term basis. Hallmark said the role is “a little bit up in the air,” with coaches set to evaluate over several games who it might be.

“We really only have four set roles,” the coach said, “which would be three starters and this ‘stopper’ role, and everyone else pretty flexible. So, yeah, it could change on weekend (No.) 2, but that’s where we are right now.”

Coming up

South Dakota State at UTSA
Friday – 4 p.m.
Saturday – noon
Sunday – 1 p.m.

Notable

The coach said veteran standout catcher Andrew Stucky “looks great,” with Broc Parmer, Whitt Joyce and Jacob Silva backing up.

With a solid freshman season under his belt, sophomore Caden Miller is playing first base. Another sophomore standout, Nathan Hodge is injured, and that has opened up playing time for others in the infield.

At second base, shortstop and third base, Hallmark mentioned veterans Jordan Ballin and Diego Diaz, plus freshman Aidan Eshelman and sophomore transfer Josh Arquette, as players who could play at any of those three spots.

Also, Josh Vaughn and Mason Jacob, the coach said.

“Second base, third base, shortstop, early in the year, you’ll see guys switching in and out of there,” Hallmark said. “Very versatile group, and we train ’em that way. All those guys I mentioned can play all three.”

In the outfield, Drew Detlefsen, who led the team in home runs last year, supplies the veteran leadership. He played mostly in left field last season but might play some in center this year, as well.

Others to watch in the outfield include freshman power hitter Nathan Johnson from Katy Seven Lakes, junior Lane Haworth, a transfer from Wichita State and University of Houston transfer Brandon Bishop.

Echoes from 2025

Hallmark said the energy around the program “has been great” and that “there’s been a lot of buzz. I think they sold out the chair-back seats (at Roadrunner Field), or real, real close.” The team’s annual golf tournament also did well.

Quotable

“People definitely took notice of what we did last year,” the coach said. “We need to really put that stuff to the side, for players and coaches, and really focus on what we can control.

“And that’s not as easily done as it is said, focusing on what you can control, like throwing strikes and hitting the ball and making the plays. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. It still gets down to what you do on the field.

“We’re trying to keep our minds on that and become better baseball players through some of the hoopla from last year.”

North Texas rolls 81-58, extending UTSA’s losing streak to 16 games

Posted on by
Reply
North Cole Franklin. North Texas beat UTSA 81-58 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Cole Franklin (at right) scored 21 points on nine of 14 shooting Saturday to help the North Texas Mean Green snap a four-game losing streak. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The North Texas Mean Green entered the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon hoping to start digging themselves out of an 11th-place hole in the American Conference men’s basketball standings.

Buried even deeper, the UTSA Roadrunners just wanted to win a game, period.

North Texas succeeded in its mission, ripping off a 25-0 run that stretched from late in the first half to early in the second, on its way to an 81-58 victory.

As a result, the Mean Green extended the 13th (and last)-place Roadrunners’ program-record losing streak to 16 games.

Jamir Simpson. North Texas beat UTSA 81-58 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Roadrunners guard Jamir Simpson scored 17 points on seven of 16 shooting. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Winning is hard,” first-year North Texas coach Daniyal Robinson said. “Any time you get an opportunity to get a win, you got to celebrate it. I’m really proud of our guys on how they bounced back from the heartbreaking, double-overtime loss at Rice.”

Rice defeated North Texas 86-83 in double overtime Wednesday night in Houston. After a slow start against UTSA, one of the lowest-rated teams in the nation, the Mean Green turned it on in the last 25 minutes.

“This means a lot,” said Robinson, who spent the last three seasons as head coach at Cleveland State. “It gives our guys a confidence boost going into next week.”

The North Texas backcourt duo of Cole Franklin and Je’Shawn Stevenson enjoyed big games in helping North Texas (13-11, 4-7) snap a four-game losing streak.

Playing with energy against the struggling Roadrunners (4-19, 0-11), Franklin produced 21 points and seven rebounds.

He hit nine of 14 shots from the field, including multiple layups off UTSA turnovers.

Stevenson, who burned UTSA for 27 points in an 81-62 victory last month in Denton, scored only 10 but may have been just as much of a nuisance to the home team.

Not only did he disrupt UTSA’s offense with six steals, but he also passed for six assists and pulled down six rebounds.

Jamir Simpson scored 17 points to lead the Roadrunners, and Baboucarr Njie added 11.

Austin Claunch. North Texas beat UTSA 81-58 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Austin Claunch exhorts his team from the sideline against North Texas. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Austin Nunez was helped off the floor with 4:40 remaining in the game after he fell on a dunk attempt and hurt his knee. The preliminary prognosis is that Nunez escaped any structural damage.

In analyzing the game, Roadrunners coach Austin Claunch lamented what he called a “terrible” last two minutes of the first half and a “horrendous” effort in the second half.

“Embarrassing, the most embarrassed I’ve ever been,” Claunch said. “That’s unacceptable on my end. We got to be better Wednesday.”

In serious danger of getting left out of the conference tournament, the Roadrunners sit in last place in the American going into a Wednesday road game at East Carolina.

They trail the 10th-place Rice Owls now by five games in the loss column with seven remaining.

Only 10 teams in the American qualify for the tournament based on a new format installed before the season.

If there was a bright spot to emerge in the postgame analysis, it was that Nunez apparently escaped serious injury.

“It seems structurally, he’s OK, which is the most important thing,” Claunch said. “I think he got the wind knocked out of him, as well. With the knee injuries he’s had, it scared him a little bit more than anything. It looks like he’s going to be OK.

“Structurally, nothing serious, but we’ll double check on that tomorrow.”

Through the losing streak, Claunch has remained largely upbeat, especially after 10-points-or-less home losses to Temple and UAB on the last homestand.

But on Saturday afternoon, the coach couldn’t hide his disappointment at what happened in the second half, when the Mean Green outscored the Roadrunners 47-32.

“For the first time,” Claunch said, “we looked like a team that’s lost 16 games in a row. That’s what it looked like — for the first time. We played great basketball for three straight games. We played a pretty good first half (today).

“Obviously, I’m going to watch it. It’s not one person. It starts with the head coach (on) down. So, got to go watch it. Obviously we’ve got seven games (with) two on the road (next week).

“Got to watch this. Evaluate it, and see where we go.”

Austin Nunez. North Texas beat UTSA 81-58 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Austin Nunez fell on a dunk attempt with four minutes left in the game, but Austin Claunch said he escaped any structural damage to his knee. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

North Texas 13-11, 4-7
UTSA 4-19, 0-11

Coming up

UTSA at East Carolina, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Charlotte, Sunday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m.

Notable

Guard Cole Franklin, a junior from DeSoto, produced 11 points in the 25-0 run for North Texas.

The Mean Green scored 11 in a row at the end of the first half and another 14 straight at the start of the second.

Franklin, a Cleveland State transfer, capped the run with a tip-in that expanded the Mean Green’s lead to 48-26 with 17:18 remaining.

North Texas held a glaring statistical advantage in points scored off turnovers. The Mean Green forced 18 turnovers and capitalized to score 34 points. On the flip side, UTSA forced 13 turnovers but scored only seven points off them.

North Texas extended its lead in the all-time series against UTSA to 24-14. The Mean Green improved to 12-8 in San Antonio, including four straight victories.

UTSA’s last win at home against North Texas came on Jan. 9, 2021. In that game, UTSA won 77-69 behind guard Jhivvan Jackson’s 31 points.

Roadrunners freshman guard Dorian Hayes sat out his second consecutive game with an injury. Hayes was listed as questionable on the morning availability report and then came out of the dressing room in warmups.

Forward Baboucarr Njie was also listed as questionable, but he started and played.

First half

Trailing for almost 15 minutes in the half, North Texas stepped it up in the last five minutes with the 11-0 run for a 34-26 lead.

North coach Daniyal Robinson. North Texas beat UTSA 81-58 in American Conference men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Convocation Center. - Photo by Joe Alexander

North Texas coach Daniyal Robinson said he is proud of his players for bouncing back after a double-overtime loss Wednesday in Houston against Rice. – Photo by Joe Alexander

First, the Mean Green forced an Austin Nunez turnover and advanced the ball the other way for a layup by Franklin.

Next, Je’Shawn Stevenson buried a three off the left wing. After UTSA’s Daniel Akitoby misfired on a couple of free throws, Franklin attacked again on a drive for two points.

He missed an ensuing free throw, but Dylan Arnett finished the play with a tip in. David Terrell Jr. completed the run for the Mean Green, hitting two free throws with 29.4 seconds remaining.

UTSA women bounce back with a 66-47 win at Tulsa

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Forward Idara Udo scored a season-high 18 points Saturday in her fourth game back in the lineup after sitting out six weeks with an injury, helping the UTSA Roadrunners women rebound from a seven-game swoon with a 66-47 road victory at Tulsa.

UTSA had dropped two in a row and five of its last seven games entering play against the Golden Hurricane, one of the contenders in the American Conference.

In response, Udo enjoyed her best offensive game of the year, hitting seven of 11 from the field and four of five at the free throw line. Forward Cheyenne Rowe also contributed, scoring 17 for her 15th game in double figures this season.

After yielding a season high in points Tuesday night in an 81-69 road loss to the UAB Blazers, the Roadrunners played one of their better defensive games of the year, holding the Golden Hurricane to 26 points below their average.

Mady Cartwright, Tulsa’s leading scorer at 15.6 per game, was limited to 11 points on four of 14 shooting. She made only one of eight on her 3-point attempts.

Records

UTSA 11-11, 6-5
Tulsa 16-7, 8-3

Coming up

Temple at UTSA, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Double dip: UTSA men to host North Texas, while the women will challenge Tulsa on the road

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The UTSA Roadrunners men’s and women’s basketball teams will try to snap out of their respective slumps today. Here are the details on a pair of games in the American Conference, with the men hosting the North Texas Mean Green and the women paying a visit to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Men’s game

North Texas (12-11, 3-7)
at
UTSA (4-18, 0-10)

When: Today at 1 p.m.
Where: The UTSA Convocation Center

North Texas

Coach: Daniyal Robinson, in his first season with the Mean Green.
Top players: Guard Je’Shawn Stevenson, forward Dylan Arnett, guard David Terrell Jr.
Recently: Lost four straight and six of the last eight.
Notable: North Texas defeated UTSA 81-62 on Jan. 21 in Denton. Stevenson knocked down seven 3-pointers. The Mean Green’s best win was a 72-67 decision at home over Tulsa in the second game of conference play.

UTSA

Coach: Austin Claunch, in his second season with the Roadrunners.
Top players: Guards Jamir Simpson, Austin Nunez and Brent Moss.
Recently: Lost 15 straight and 16 of the last 17.
Notable: Moss scored a career-high 32 points Wednesday in UTSA’s last outing, a 109-88 setback at South Florida. UTSA’s losing streak is a school record and is tied for second with Air Force for the longest active skid in NCAA Division I.

Women’s game

UTSA (10-11, 5-5)
at
Tulsa (16-6, 8-2)

When: Today at 2 p.m.
Where: The Reynolds Center in Tulsa.

UTSA

Coach: Karen Aston, in her fifth season with the Roadrunners.
Top players: Forward Cheyenne Rowe, guard Ereauna Hardaway, forward Idara Udo.
Recently: Lost two straight and five of the last seven.
Notable: UTSA’s recent slide comes after the defending conference champions started conference play at 3-0. The Roadrunners beat the North Texas Mean Green 66-64 at home on Jan. 28 but have since dropped games to the conference-leading Rice Owls 65-55 (at home) and to the last place UAB Blazers 81-69 (on the road).

Tulsa

Coach: Angie Nelp, in her fifth season with the Golden Hurricane.
Top players: Guard Mady Cartwright, forward Hannah Riddick, guard Jade Clack.
Recently: Won four straight and five of the last six.
Notable: Coach Angie Nelp is working on her fifth straight winning season with the Golden Hurricane. Two years ago, Tulsa tied with North Texas and Temple for the American’s regular-season title. This season, the Golden Hurricane notched a power conference victory over the Florida Gators in Gainesville.

South Florida wins 109-88 as UTSA loses its 15th straight

Posted on by
Reply

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Trailing by five points late in the first half and by two at intermission, the South Florida Bulls shot 68 percent the rest of the way and rolled to a 109-88 victory Wednesday night, dealing a 15th straight loss to the UTSA Roadrunners.

Brent Moss. UTSA basketball Rowdy Jam on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Brent Moss, shown here in a file photo from last fall, exploded Wednesday night for a season-high 32 points against South Florida. – File photo by Joe Alexander

Forward Izaiyah Nelson scored 25 points on 11 of 14 shooting from the field, including multiple dunks, to lead the Bulls in front of their home crowd in Tampa, Fla.

South Florida entered tied for third place in the American Conference men’s basketball race, while UTSA came in as the last-place team.

But in a surprise, it didn’t turn into a runaway until deep in the second half, when the Roadrunners, down by double digits, started to gamble on defense.

Regardless, South Florida (15-8, 7-3) kept pace with the leaders in the American and sent last-place UTSA (4-18, 0-10) to its 16th loss in 17 games.

Junior college transfer Brent Moss scored a season-high 32 points to lead the Roadrunners. Moss, who played the last two seasons at Barton Community College in Kansas, finished 10 of 16 from the field. He also hit seven of nine from three.

In the second half, the Bulls did a good job on Moss, keeping him from attempting a shot from the field for 10 minutes. Down the stretch, Moss hit three of seven after South Florida had started to run away with it.

UTSA coach Austin Claunch said in his postgame radio interview with Andy Everett that he knew South Florida would make a run in the second half. But a 12-2 run in the first six minutes seemed to super-charge an already talented team.

From there, the Bulls went from a 69-59 lead to 83-68 in only four minutes. The Roadrunners responded with a push of their own, pulling to within 83-74 with 8:27 remaining on a Daniel Akitoby stick back.

But that was as close as they would get to a Bulls team that would eventually widen the lead to 24 points in the last 20 seconds.

“The way they play, and as well as they move it and shoot it, if you play 30 seconds of bad basketball, it can lead to a 7-0 run,” Claunch said. “They really do a good job. They had 25 assists. They have great shooters.”

Claunch said he still feels good about his team even though it hasn’t won a game since Nov. 25 and several key players are out for the season.

“Let’s go,” Claunch said in the postgame interview. “We got eight more (games left in the regular season). Wins are coming. We feel good about our (preparation) and our work with the guys we have in our locker room.”

Other positives for the Roadrunners included Jamir Simpson, who scored 24 points. As Simpson created his own shots off creative drives to the hoop, he knocked down eight of 15 from the field and finished with his eighth 20-point game of the season.

Akitoby also enjoyed a big night with 14 points and eight rebounds. South Florida defended well against two other UTSA threats, with Austin Nunez scoring seven points to go with six assists. Forward Baboucarr Njie went scoreless with two rebounds in 16 minutes.

Records

UTSA 4-18, 0-10
South Florida 15-8, 7-3

Coming up

North Texas at UTSA, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Notable

Later Wednesday night, Trae Broadnax and Nick Anderson scored 22 points each as the Rice Owls held on at home to beat the North Texas Mean Green, 86-83, in double overtime.

Rice improved its record to 4-6 in the conference and to 10-13 overall. North Texas will come into San Antonio for Saturday’s game against UTSA with a record of 3-7 and 12-11.

Despite the program-record losing streak, the Roadrunners traveled to Florida with some momentum.

Last week, playing at home, they led the Temple Owls with four minutes remaining and ended up losing by six. They stayed with the UAB Blazers for 38 minutes before losing by 10.

UTSA’s Brent Moss and Jamir Simpson both attended high school in Lima, Ohio. Moss, who played on a national title team at Barton, is a native of the Bahamas.

Freshman guard Dorian Hayes and Baboucarr Njie were both listed as questionable in the pre-game player availability report.

Hayes didn’t play against South Florida, while Njie logged 16 minutes, missed all three of his shots from the field and pulled down only two rebounds.

Njie, another Ohio native, occasionally has emerged as one of the best players on the floor for UTSA.

Twice since Jan. 14 he has scored 20-plus points. The 6-5 forward recorded blocked shots in seven straight games before failing to get one against the Bulls.

First half

Moss erupted for 23 points on five of five shooting from 3-point distance, leading the Roadrunners to a 50-48 lead on the Bulls.

It was a surprising development for South Florida fans in Tampa, as UTSA came into the game on a 14-game losing streak and averaging only 68 points a game.

Tied for third place in the American, the Bulls initially didn’t have a defensive answer for the Roadrunners, who shot 62.1 percent from the field in the half.

Two UTSA players who played their high school ball in Lima, Ohio, sparked the Roadrunners.

Moss knocked down seven of nine from the field and five of five from three.

With three minutes left in the half, he scored his 20th point, which gave him a season-high. He buried his fifth three with 35 seconds left, lifting UTSA into a 50-45 lead.

Simpson, who has led the Roadrunners in scoring all season, brought an aggressive attitude to the floor. Driving and creating space with a large frame, the 6-6 Simpson hit five of nine shots for 14 points.

High-flying Nelson led the Bulls with 15 points. Point guard CJ Brown added 12.